True Patch Gold Edition -- DIRECT DOWNLOAD LINK

[.-083]

So i can't unzip this over an installation with tpg hotfix #6 either?
Because i installed the game months ago, applied the tpg, then compressed the game folder, burned it to a dvd, and deleted the original game images i downloaded. Must i download the game again? Or simply use the files in the dvd?

[Tessera]

Every version of the True Patch Gold Edition is fully compatible with every previous version. So yes... you can simply install the current release right on top of your current VTMB installation, if you are already a TPG user.

You may need to start the game over again, however... using a brand-new character which has never been played before. Aside from that little quirk of the Source engine, there shouldn't be any other problems.

If you are using any third-party mods for Bloodlines (assuming that those mods are 100% True Patch compatible), then they might need to be re-installed after you have re-patched the game.

[Diver]

where can I find all features of this patch? how does it affect the game?

[Tessera]

how does it affect the game?

It doesn't. That's the beauty of the True Patch. All it does is fix the legitimate bugs which existed within the "plain-vanilla" game, without altering any of the other aspects of Troika's masterpiece. After installing the True Patch Gold Edition, you will be playing Troika's original game without bugs... and nothing else.

Proper third-party patches just fix bugs. On the other hand, mods make changes to the original content. Unfortunately, there are some people out there who feel that a patch and a mod are the same thing... which probably explains why so many Bloodlines players are very dissatisfied (and even angry) with "that other patch." I think we all know which "patch" I am referring to.

The TPG will allow you to enjoy a bug-free gaming experience. It does not make any significant alterations to Troika's original game, aside from restoring a minimal amount of broken content which Troika did not have enough time to fix on their own. That's a promise.

[Diver]

Cool! It's a test time so

[spiff]

wow. I've been using your patches since v4.2 I think it was. The last version I used was 5.04. I've been considering a another play through of VTMB so seeing you are still developing the patch is very cool.

thanks

[Tessera]

You're welcome. 

And the best news is: if you were already using patch 5.04AT, then you can install the True Patch Gold Edition directly on top of it. The TPG is fully backward-compatible with version 5.04AT.

[fantomas]

A couple of suggested modifications to the ReadMe_RES-PATCHER.txt

- The config.cfg file does not exist initially from a new install (I installed from cd). It's created after you successfully launch the game for the first time.
- "double-click vtmbrespatcher.dll" s/b double-click vtmbrespatcher.exe
- include info/inst around the -h xxxx -w xxxx switches.

[Tessera]

Thank you for your suggestions. I'll fix those errors in the ResPatcher ReadMe as soon as I can,
and upload the revised version to the server afterward.

[A Gigantic Dog]

Hi, I'm really new to this game and this forum. I just bought it recently from a steam sale, so I'm sorry if this question is obvious but, I was wondering if the True Patch Gold includes higher res textures or if that is just exclusive to the Mega-Mod?

[hd2112]

So Tessera, mind you I am an idiot with this stuff. But is there any cheap, easy, dirty way to know that the TPG was in fact installed? Every time I try to copy paste to what I *think* is the .exe it launches, lol. I have tried drag and drop and everything else my small brain can think of. I didn't want to wait for some over priced disks, so I did a digital download off Gamestop and well, lets say its not just way past time for a new computer (building as I can afford), but also an OS reinstall. If I could figure out quickly whether it took or not, I can try again to get it to take. Otherwise, I am just not sure. Any ideas?

[Tessera]

Well first of all, make sure that you READ and UNDERSTAND and FOLLOW the installation instructions for the TPG. Follow those instructions EXACTLY. Don't take it upon yourself to install the TPG in some "better way." There is no better way. So let's just start off on the right foot and do everything the way that it is supposed to be done.

Now then, your question boils down to this: is there a way to verify that the TPG has in fact been installed into Bloodlines..? And the answer is yes, there is. In fact, there are numerous ways that you could verify that the TPG is installed and working as intended.

But let me tell you the easiest way... something that any layman can do on their own, without having to be a computer expert.

There are some special graphic textures included within the TPG patch. The sole purpose of those special graphic textures is to help people determine whether or not the files from the TPG patch were installed to their correct locations. What these special textures do is very simple: they add a small, unobtrusive graphic image to a few of the static props in the game. Nevermind what "static props" are right now... just go with me on this. The point is that there have been very tiny, almost impossible to see (during the course of normal gameplay) graphics added to the actual game world itself. Those tiny little graphics are what I call "texture stamps." I have been integrating such texture stamps into the True Patch series, for verification purposes, ever since version 4.02AT.

So what do we do with these so-called texture stamps..? Simple: we run out into the game world and try to find one of them. And if it is not there, then it means that the TPG is not properly installed. That is the sole reason for the addition of those texture stamps.

The easiest texture stamp for everyone to find is in Santa Monica... in the outdoor area. Just run your character over to that alley next to the Asylum club. If you are standing in the street, facing the front door of the Asylum, then the alley that I am referring to is on your right.

Sitting in that somewhat dark alley are a couple of big, yellow dumpsters. Those dumpsters are examples of static props... they don't move, they just sit there being a part of the scenery. So go over to where those big yellow dumpsters are, and take a very close look at them. You will notice that they are covered with all sorts of graffiti. Now take an even closer look at the graffiti...

On one end of the dumpster, if you look REALLY hard for it, you will see some graffiti scratched into the yellow paint that says "AT" which stands for "Acrimonious and Tessera," the authors of the original True Patch for Bloodlines.

But instead of me just telling you about it, why don't I show you..? Let's take a look at the screenshot below:



The inset at the lower left shows a close-up view of the actual texture stamp. It is one of several texture stamps that I integrated into the True Patch series of Bloodlines patches. As you can see, it is very faint... you would never, ever notice it during the course of normal gameplay (unless you were deliberately looking for it). And even if you did happen to notice it, you wouldn't give it a second thought. It just looks like all of the other graffiti that covers the dumpster. It is completely unobtrusive... but it also serves a very important purpose. It lets us know that the True Patch was indeed installed properly and that all of the TPG files have ended up in their correct locations.

So if you run over to that dumpster and you do NOT see "AT" scratched into the yellow paint (as shown in my screenshot), then your TPG installation is either missing, or improperly installed, or incomplete.

[GoldenAxe]

Awesome! I haven't played Bloodlines since 2006. Wesp's stuff scared me with all the changes. Thank you thank you thank you!

[Tessera]

You are very welcome. Happy vamping. 

[hd2112]

Thank you! Doing any of the patches, mods, skins, etc. is always a struggle (small understatement) for me. This way, at least I will know when I finally do get it right.

[Tessera]

You're welcome. And we've raised that point several times on this board... namely that the TPG is the best choice for aspiring Bloodlines modders.

The TPG version of Bloodlines provides modders with a nice, stable and essentially unchanging base upon which to build their mods. No arbitrary changes to the game... no silly BS... just a solid, bug-free game. Speaking as a modder, that is precisely what I would want to start with... not some ever-changing abortion, which could very well undermine my modding efforts from one version to the next. 

[kgram]

Just installed TPG and the MegaMod on a fresh VTMB install.  Cranked up the game and played through to the first bite and saved.  Very smooth sailing so far, and lookin very good through the intro.   I browsed the config file and it looks like you have binds already there for exactly what I was going to put in those missing key configs, and I don't need to change what you have done.  Just odd, that it does not show up in the menu any more.  But really, I just wanted to start thanking you for the years of labor and making this game fun to play.  Very clean install process.  I shall divulge more upon further digestion, but that could be several hours or days away...

[Tessera]

Just odd, that it does not show up in the menu any more.

Key binds..? Sure they do. From the main menu screen, select Options ---> Keyboard.

The TPG makes no changes to the default game menus. Everything is working as it should.